Unidentified assailants shot at a man outside a Virginia Beach nightclub where Eagles quarterback, Michael Vick's 30th birthday party celebrations were going on. The victim has been identified as a co-defendant in Vick's dog fighting case. Vick's attorney, Larry Woodward, says that Vick was not present at the time of early Friday morning shooting as per media reports.
Vick has not been identified as a "person of interest" in the shooting by the Virginia Police.
"We have no information that [Vick] was involved in any way, shape or form," police spokesman Adam Bernstein said.
The Eagles released their statement on the unsavory incident on Friday which read:"We are aware of the incident that occurred in Virginia early this morning and are in the process of gathering all of the facts. Until then, we will not have any comment on this matter."
As reported by Philly.com. a source at the Eagles said that the team believed that Vick had left the party before the shooting incident and that he is "allowed to be at his own birthday party." The source also mentioned that it was too early to decide if the team would take any disciplinary action.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello responded in an e-mail that the league was "looking into" the matter "to determine the facts," reports Philly.com.
Roddy White, wide receiver for Falcons, was present at the party and told the Hampton Roads (Va.) Daily Press that he and Vick had already left before the shooting.
"We were already gone by the time that stuff started happening, so I don't know what's going to go on with that or whatever," White said. "But we didn't have anything to do with it."
According to Virginia Beach authorities, a man was shot after an altercation at Quadalajara's Mexican restaurant in the Town Center area. Police were called to the 4600 block of Columbus Street after shots were heard. But the police could not find the victim when they arrived at the scene. They received the information that a man was shot in the leg and was seen leaving the scene in a white Cadillac Escalade.
The police eventually tracked the vehicle down and the victim was escorted to the Sentara Virginia Beach Hospital, where he was treated for "non-life-threatening" injuries. The suspect was described as a "black male wearing a white tank top," the report said. Bernstein could not name the victim - citing privacy laws - but various reports out of Virginia Beach identified him as Quanis Phillips.
Philips is a childhood friend of Vick’s and received 21 months in a federal prison for his role in the Virginia Beach dogfighting ring. Vick served 18 months and is prohibited from associating with any of his codefendants or any known felon.
The authorities have not been able to establish as yet if Phillips was invited by Vick to his party or if they had any contact
Upon his return to NFL in July, Vick was warned that even the minutest of misbehavior on his part would not be tolerated. At the time of his reinstatement, commissioner Roger Goodell said, "Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited."
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was even more forthright in his warning.
"There is no room for error on Michael's part," Lurie said last August, on the day the Eagles introduced their new signing. "There are no third chances and we know that. That's the thing, if this isn't fulfilled the way we expect it to be, then that will be the end."
Vick was recently named as the ‘most hated’ athlete in the Forbes magazine.
